Texas Governor Rick Perry is the latest candidate to visit the New Hampshire Institute of Politics and Political Library at Saint Anselm College in this increasingly busy campaign cycle. Appearing in front of an array of local, regional and national reporters, including NHIOP advisory board member and journalist Mark Halperin, Perry introduced Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio who endorsed the candidate earlier today. Saint Anselm remains a must-stop venue for candidates and the media in New Hampshire, and will host a nationally televised debate in early January preceding the first-in-the-nation primary.

Editor's note: This is one in a semester-long series of entries by students participating in the EN330 "political communication" course at Saint Anselm College. Students will be invited by Fr. Jerome Day, O.S.B. to submit their weekly logs to the Saint Anselm College blog, offering a glimpse inside "America's Classroom" as we approach the 2012 New Hampshire primary.

Samantha Glavin
November 21, 2011

When we say actions speak louder than words, do we really mean that numbers do? We’re a society fascinated by statistics—the how manys, the how muchs, the percents—sometimes to the point where the true meaning of the numbers themselves are obscured in a cynical fog. And nowhere else in American society is this fascination with numbers more apparent than in politics. In our scrutinizing culture, numbers have a power to communicate messages as powerfully as speeches or statements. We see it in polling, we see it in the stock exchange, but we also see it in how much the bill is at the end of the meal. If a president spends what society deems as “too much” on the renovation of his house, if a first lady buys a necklace that’s worth a small fortune, or if a candidate surprises his wife with a trip to the Mediterranean, observing citizens are up in a huff, denouncing this man or woman’s values and their ability to lead a nation.

This obsession was brought to my attention by an article I saw on the New York Times’ website, “Romney Finds It’s Not Free to Move About the Country”¹. The article describes in 252 words the private and commercial flight expenses run up by presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his third fundraising quarter. The author writes, “The Romney campaign spent $233,812 on private air travel—over $100,000 more than he spent on commercial flights… over all, $369,848.75 on total air travel” and goes even more in-depth about the expenses paid to specific airlines, analyzing Romney’s spending habits as if he was running for a “2012 National Model Citizen of Middle Class Spending” award and not for President of the United States. And Romney’s been under fire before, for example in August when he was criticized for the cost of renovations on his mansion. Clearer now than ever, there are inextricable ties planted in the public’s mind between how much someone spends, and how worthy he or she is to lead others.

Don’t get me wrong—I understand the thought process. The majority of us aren’t millionaires, and someone spending ludicrous amounts of money on various luxuries doesn’t exactly speak to the “I’m with the common, hardworking man” ideal. But I think we need to be more media literate about how we approach these numbers, and also be conscious of the widespread big spending in Washington as a whole—it’s not just Romney, or Republicans, or Democrats doing it, and as a matter-of-fact, our own country is deep in the hole for its own extravagant spending. You can pull numbers out of anywhere, and make them mean anything. It’s estimated that the Obamas spent $73,781.50 on Michelle Obama’s six-and-a-half hour trip to Spain in 2010². Joe Biden ordered government officials to review and cut-back on their spending after news broke that $16 muffins (yes, that’s per muffin) were served at Justice Department conferences³, this while his first-in-command is serving $400 bottles of wine at a state dinner. And there’s a historical precedent to all of this as well. Sarah Palin is attacked for supposedly buying a new wardrobe costing a hundred thousand dollars, while Jackie Kennedy spent absurd amounts of money on clothing, trips, decorations, and other personal items, but despite this became a lasting national icon.

Should any of these numbers really mean anything to us? Reporters rattle off an endless stream of expenses and costs against both parties, but in the end, I’m only left nauseated. How a public figure spends his or her money is interesting, and, to a degree, relevant. But in a time when consumers feed off rapidly changing, easily digestible megabytes of information, this numbers game has only become distracting to the real issues facing our evolving (or devolving) country. We are becoming more ignorant to the actual messages coming out of the mouths of the individuals who are leading us, somewhat blindly, into an unknown and worrisome future. Unless we decide to investigate the context of the matter more thoroughly, it’s time to put the calculator down.

Ron Paul would beat New Hampshire front runner Mitt Romney and even President Barack Obama if the state’s fifth and sixth graders were the ones to choose.

In fact, Romney came in fourth in the Kids Primary Thursday, which involved more than 250 grade school voters from schools across state at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.

A strong plurality – 83, in all – gave Paul the nod. Second place Michele Bachman received 63 votes, Herman Cain, 43, and Mitt Romney, who leads in many polls in New Hampshire, just 40. Rick Perry received 10 votes and other candidates were in the single digits. Students, who had the option of voting Democratic, gave President Barack Obama 39 votes.

Students from schools in Manchester, Nashua, Derry, Pembroke, Gorham, Jaffrey and Somersworth took part in the event, where they learned about the first-in-the-nation primary from Secretary of State Bill Gardner and Gov. John Lynch.

Photos of Governor Lynch and Secretary Gardner are available on the Saint Anselm College Flickr site.

The votes are in in the first-in-the-nation primary state — at least the votes among 250 fifth and sixth graders from across New Hampshire who voted in the Kids Primary conducted by the Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester.

Their choice? Ron Paul, who beat out all the Republican candidates as well as President Obama.

Perhaps Mr. Paul’s victory in this setting should come as no surprise – what 10 or 11-year-old child wouldn’t like his libertarian (“I’m NOT the boss of you!”) message?

Gov. John Lynch headlined the event for elementary school kids, which was moderated by WMUR anchor Tom Griffith and featured N.H. Secretary of State Bill Gardner.

“Remember, there is no right or wrong answer in who you select,” said Griffith. “You as the next generation of voters will have that same opportunity, and that same responsibility to look over the candidates and make educated decisions about who you think would be the best.”

Lynch spoke to the importance of the New Hampshire primary, saying that in other states people only see the candidates on television or at super-sized events. “In New Hampshire you get to meet them in small groups, and I'm convinced it makes (them) better candidates. I'm also convinced it makes them better presidents, because it forces them to connect with real people.”

We wrote earlier this week about the fading youth enthusiasm for Obama — among the under-16 set, that is. And new poll of pre-teen New Hampshire students offers some unscientific support for the anecdotes we've been hearing.

Lorie Cochran at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics receives any number of phone calls every day. Juggling duties for the department of politics and the administration of the NHIOP, Cochran occasionally receives phone calls that most of us wouldn't know how to respond to. One such situation: a call from the White House looking for students to assist in Vice President Biden's recent trip to New Hampshire.

A group of Saint Anselm students pause for a photo with N.H. Governor John Lynch before the Vice President's event in Concord, New Hampshire.

Without pause, Cochran took down the request, alongside the note that CBS News is looking for Saint Anselm students to work with the network during the upcoming primary.

With typical Anselmian efficiency, emails were sent, buzz spread among students, and within moments, replies started bouncing back from Blackberry and iPhone-laden students looking to participate.

Three students, Theodore Groh, Kristin Zanotti and Marko Samardzic were presented with a truly unique opportunity: the chance to drive in the Vice President's motorcade. The students were asked to meet with White House staff on Wednesday night at 5 p.m. and then report on Thursday at 9 a.m. to spend the day driving the VP's staff around the state.

"Driving around NH in Vice President Joe Biden's motorcade on Thursday! SO excited, love the opportunities Saint A's and the @nhiop provide!," Tweeted Zanotti.

A larger group of students were able to attend the Vice President's speech in Concord, and gained access to a press availability prior to Mr. Biden's arrival. The Saint Anselm students were front and center as Governor Lynch, Secretary of State Bill Gardner, Ovid Lamontagne, and former Governor Stephen Merrill all took time to speak with the students, and pose for photos.

“This is one of the strangest primary years we’ve ever seen,” said Washington Post journalist Dan Balz at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) Friday morning. “Almost nothing we predicted is playing out the way we might have expected.” He addressed an audience at the Politics and Eggs series attended by business people and members of the faculty and student body, and even a Parliamentarian from Belgium.

Washington Post reporter Dan Balz (photo by Bill O'Leary /TWP)

Balz, the co-author of The Battle for America 2008, discussed the ups and downs of various contenders for the Republican primary nomination and the American people’s current disenchantment with President Barack Obama.

This primary process started out much more slowly than in previous years, he observed. “We have had the most fluid Republican lineup any of us can remember. There was almost as much attention to people who decided not to run as to people who decided to run. In almost every case, there was a great deal of discussion and commentary about them that created another story, which was, ‘What’s wrong with this field?’”

He also stressed the importance of this election cycle’s primary debates, saying that “virtually every debate has been consequential and has had significant impact on people’s impressions of candidates.” Saint Anselm College hosted one debate in June and will be the setting of another Jan. 7, just before the first-in-the-nation primary.

This is in many ways a high stakes election and a crucial election, Balz noted, as it plays out against the backdrop of a terrible economy and dissatisfaction with the way things are done in Washington.

He pointed out that a lot of Republicans are still reluctant to embrace Mitt Romney, who has a strong organization in New Hampshire. A poll released last month by the NHIOP and the Institute of Politics at Harvard University put Romney 18 points ahead of his closest rival in New Hampshire, Herman Cain, at 38 percent to 20 percent. The institutes will issue a second poll shortly before the Jan. 10 primary.

“I don’t know yet how much affection there will be for Mitt Romney,” Balz said, “but the party doesn’t have to love its nominee. It has to believe they are capable of winning in the general election and rally around that. The passion issue is going to be created on the Republican side by President Obama.”

He said that even unlikely candidates are valuable to the process by creating discussion around certain issues. “Things always change when the voters begin to vote. Let’s remember that come January, something is going to happen that we don’t expect.”

Asked by a listener how social media is affecting this campaign, he said, “with Twitter and the rolling, running news cycle, journalists run the risk of getting out ahead of where the story really is.”

Every four years, Saint Anselm has a tradition of extending our Benedictine hospitality to presidential primary candidates, the news media, and the general public for nationally televised debates.

Saint Anselm College will once again play this important role by hosting a Republican debate with ABC and WMUR, to be held the Saturday evening prior to the New Hampshire primary. The debate will air nationally from 9 to 11 p.m.

ABC hosted the final Granite State presidential debates at Saint Anselm in 2008 (see photos) – an event that brought Republican and Democratic candidates on stage together for the first time, only days before the first-in-the-nation votes were cast.

ABC’s Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos to Moderate Debate from Saint Anselm College with WMUR Anchor Josh McElveen

Debate to Air in Primetime at 9:00 PM/ET on the ABC Television Network

Excerpted Debate to Re-Air the Following Morning on “This Week with Christiane Amanpour”

ABC News and WMUR-TV, ABC’s Hearst-owned affiliate in Manchester, NH, are joining forces once again to host a Republican presidential candidate debate in New Hampshire just days before the Granite State’s first in the nation primary — a critical moment in the Republican nomination process. It will be the only broadcast network debate in primetime before the primary and will take place on the Saturday night preceding the primary from 9:00-11:00pm/ET. The debate will air live nationally on the ABC Television Network and locally on WMUR-TV and will be moderated by ABC’s Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos; they will be joined by WMUR-TV anchor Josh McElveen.

The debate will stream live on ABCNEWS.com, Yahoo!, and WMUR.com. ABC News Radio, the nation’s largest commercial radio news organization, will carry it live on its stations. ABC News will re-air an excerpted version of the debate the following Sunday morning on “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.”

The candidates will be asked about the critical issues the country faces in front of a live audience at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. Eligibility criteria for a candidate’s participation will be posted on ABCNews.com later this week.

ABC News and WMUR-TV co-hosted back-to-back Democratic and Republican presidential debates in 2008 at the same critical point in the 2008 primary season and have enjoyed a long partnership covering “First in the Nation” politics in New Hampshire. In 2008, more than 9 million viewers across the country tuned in to watch the Democratic debate and 7.35 million for the Republican debate. The debates were also among the highest-rated programs in WMUR-TV history.

When the debate was announced in December, ABC News President Ben Sherwood said, “The days between Iowa and New Hampshire have often been make-or-break for candidates, and we look forward to putting the crucial questions of the day to the contenders for the Republican nomination. We are confident that voters in New Hampshire, and across the country, will be able to make even better decisions after watching this debate.”

“WMUR is proud of our history of partnering with ABC for presidential debates” said Jeff Bartlett, WMUR-TV President and General Manager. “We are looking forward to producing another informative debate just days before the First in the Nation Primary and again providing New Hampshire voters with a critical look at the field of candidates,” Bartlett continued.

About WMUR-TV & Hearst Television

WMUR-TV is the leading source of television news in New Hampshire, reaching more than one million people, and is the largest commercial television station in the state. WMUR.com is the most viewed New Hampshire web site for local news. An ABC affiliate, WMUR is owned by Hearst Television, Inc.

Hearst Television Inc. owns 29 television stations and two radio stations, in geographically diverse U.S. markets. The Company’s television stations reach approximately 18% of U.S. TV households, making it one of the largest U.S. television station groups. Hearst owns 13 ABC affiliated stations, and is the largest ABC affiliate group. The Company owns 10 NBC affiliates, and is the second-largest NBC affiliate owner, and also owns two CBS affiliates.

About ABC News

ABC News is responsible for all of the ABC Television Network’s news programming on a variety of platforms: television, radio and the Internet. Its flagship program is “World News with Diane Sawyer” with other programs including “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” “Primetime,” “20/20,” and the Sunday morning political affairs program “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.” With an average television and radio audience of 180 million people in a given month, ABC News surpasses the competition. More than 2,400 affiliate stations broadcast ABC News Radio’s global news coverage. In addition, ABC News NOW is a 24-hour news and information network currently available to 44 million users across cable, broadband, and mobile platforms. NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, provides live and packaged news, sports, and weather reports, as well as footage of news events, to 200 ABC affiliates and more than 30 domestic and international clients.

The candidate ballot test appears far from settled; only 10 percent say that they are “definitely” voting for Mitt Romney, 6 percent say the same about Herman Cain — and only 14 percent report they are “very satisfied” with the field of candidates.

However, likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters appear confident of a Romney win over President Obama, with 72 percent saying Romney would win in a general election match-up with Obama and 20 percent saying the President would win.

"We at the Institutes of Politics at Harvard and Saint Anselm have really enjoyed working together with our students on tracking public opinion leading up to the New Hampshire primary,” said Trey Grayson, Director of Harvard’s Institute of Politics and Neil Levesque, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. “On the heels of our insightful focus groups with New Hampshire Millennials two weeks ago, our unique collaboration is now providing new, timely data to the media and public on New Hampshire voter perceptions of the 2012 presidential candidate field and key issues of concern in the Granite State.”

"The real significant finding in this data is not so much who the frontrunner is at this point – Governor Romney has been the front runner in this field for a while – but who is NOT in the top tier,” said Patrick Griffin, Senior Fellow at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. “With Herman Cain showing surprising strength as the ‘Romney Alternative’ and a compressed primary schedule, Governor Perry may be running out of time in New Hampshire. There is a lot more riding on this Tuesday's debate for Romney, Cain and Perry (in that order) today then there was yesterday."

One-in-five (20%) likely Republican primary voters say they have met at least one of the candidates running for President in person (Romney has met the most voters by a margin of more than 3:1).

The poll's 648 telephone interviews (landline and cell phone lines) with likely voters in the New Hampshire Republican primary for President were conducted between Sunday, Oct. 2 and Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points.

Key Findings

If the Republican primary for President were held today, which ONE of the following candidates would you most likely vote for? Would you say you are going to definitely vote for [INSERT CHOICE] or probably vote for [INSERT CHOICE]?

Net Vote Totals (Definitely / Probably / Unsure of Support Levels):

Mitt Romney…………………………………………………………. 38%

Herman Cain………………………………………………………… 20%

Ron Paul ……………………………………………………………… 13%

Newt Gingrich ………………………………………………………. 5%

Jon Huntsman………………………………………………………. 4%

Rick Perry ……………………………………………………………. 4%

Michelle Bachmann……………………………………………….. 3%

Gary Johnson……………………………………………………….. 1%

Rick Santorum ……………………………………………………… 1%

Don't know …………………………………………………………… 11%

2. The race is far from settled; only 10 percent say that they are "definitely" voting for Mitt Romney, 6 percent say the same about Herman Cain — 14 percent "very satisfied" with the field of candidates.

To gauge current commitment levels of likely New Hampshire Republican voters, we asked a two-part ballot test question that probed whether or not voters would "definitely vote" or "probably vote" for the candidates they mentioned. The total vote by candidate and the "definitely" vote totals follow:

Net Vote Total with "Definitely Voting":

Mitt Romney…………………………………………………………. 38%
(10% "definitely voting")

Herman Cain………………………………………………………… 20%
(6% "definitely voting")

Ron Paul ……………………………………………………………… 13%
(4% "definitely voting")

Newt Gingrich ………………………………………………………. 5%
(1% "definitely voting")

Jon Huntsman………………………………………………………. 4%
(2% "definitely voting")

Rick Perry ……………………………………………………………. 4%
(1% "definitely voting")

Michelle Bachmann……………………………………………….. 3%
(<1% "definitely voting")

Gary Johnson……………………………………………………….. 1%
(<1% "definitely voting")

Rick Santorum ……………………………………………………… 1%
(<1% "definitely voting")

Additionally, we asked how satisfied voters were with the current group of candidates: 14 percent indicated that they were very satisfied, 51 percent somewhat satisfied, 23 percent not very satisfied and 11 percent not at all satisfied.

3. Slightly less than half (46%) of primary voters support the Tea Party; ballot test a "toss-up" between Cain and Romney among this segment of the electorate.

4. Sixty-two percent believe ideological fit is more important than "defeating Obama" when deciding whom to support in primary.

Which of the following do you believe is more important when choosing a candidate in the Republican primary:

The candidate that best matches your ideology and beliefs 62%

The candidate that has the best chance of defeating Obama 29%

Neither/Both equally………………………………………………. 7%

Don't know/Decline to answer…………………………………. 2%

5. Economy dominates landscape.

Similar to other polls, the economy is the dominant issue in this campaign. More than a third (34%) reported that the economy in general was the number one factor in deciding whom to support (based on open-ended question); another 16 percent said that jobs and unemployment was the most important issue; issues related to the size and scope of government were third (13%).

6. Romney leads Paul, Perry and Huntsman significantly in all of the issues- and characterbased attributes we tested; "Cares about people like me" is a potential vulnerability.

We asked New Hampshire Republican voters which of four candidates (Romney, Paul, Perry and Huntsman) they believed would be the best fit along a series of issues- and character based attributes. Due to time constraints, all candidates were not included in this section of the survey – we regret that Herman Cain was not included. His national and local momentum largely began after this survey instrument was completed.

The question asked was: "Regardless of which Republican presidential candidate you may support, for each of the following characteristics or qualities, please tell me if you think it best describes Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, or Mitt Romney." In every instance Mitt Romney bested his competitors, with Ron Paul second on all but one item:

8. New Hampshire ambivalent about Romney's tenure as Massachusetts Governor.

While much has been written about Mitt Romney's term as Governor of Massachusetts, a plurality (43%) of likely Republican voters believe that the fact he was Governor makes no difference in his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Twenty-nine percent (29%) believe that his governorship of neighboring Massachusetts helps him; 26 percent say it hurts him.

9. New Hampshire Republicans confident of a Romney win over Obama; less confident of a Perry win – believe Christie would have been successful.

When likely Republican voters were asked to predict how various Republican nominees would fare in a general election match-up with Barack Obama, Romney was the strongest candidate by far (we compared Romney with three other governors, including Chris Christie).

10. One-in-five likely Republican voters have met at least one of the candidates.

Over the 24-hour period before our interview, 36 percent of likely Republican voters tell us that they discussed the primary campaign in person or over the phone; 16 percent did the same online – and since the campaign started 20 percent have met one of the candidates running for President in person (Romney has met the most voters by margin of more than 3:1).

Former Gov. Mitt Romney took questions from an audience of about 225 people, during a town hall-style meeting at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Romney kicked off the event noting he was happy to be back at Saint Anselm College, following his most recent visit during the June 2011 GOP debate.

More than a dozen media outlets – ranging from local newspapers, to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, Manchester joined Boston TV stations, and Carl Cameron of Fox News on the press risers to cover the event. Following the town hall, reporters met with Romney outside the NHIOP, asking him questions about rival Rick Perry, the likelihood that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would run and fundraising.

Mitt Romney returned Wednesday to politically safe territory, but he faces continuing questions about his appeal to Republicans in the rest of the country. Romney, who is holding a town hall in Goffstown at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, is returning fire by attacking Perry's most vulnerable spot — his position on immigration, which many conservative Republicans find too weak.

The Republican presidential contender won't pretend he's never changed his mind on every issue he's ever considered. He says that during his business career he learned that people have to change when facts change. If they don't, they get fired for being stubborn and stupid. Romney's comments came in response to a question during a town hall meeting Tuesday at Saint Anselm College. He also attacked top Obama strategist, David Axelrod.

Mitt Romney said Wednesday he would welcome New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie into the presidential race, calling him "a great friend, colorful character." Outside the town hall at Saint Anselm College Wednesday, a reporter asked Romney if he was insulted by the persistent enthusiasm for a Christie candidacy.

"He's a governor I'd love to see in more political settings," Romney said. "Who knows–maybe he'll get in. It'd be fun if he got in."

And so he sails serenely on, all the flavor-of-the-week turmoil surrounding the rest of the Republican ticket barely a ripple beneath his well-tailored keel. Four years ago, Mitt Romney was a profound public maladroit. The more people were exposed to him, the more they wanted to hit him in the face with a pie. Now, though, with the Bachmann boom surrendering to the Perry Boom, which collapsed because Rick Perry proved to be more of a maladroit than Mitt Romney ever dreamed of being, and with the thunderous hoofbeats of a Christie boom just now rising (maybe), Romney has begun to look like the safest vessel among the various ships of fools. All this nautical stuff is at high tide because today, at a town-hall meeting at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm's College, Mitt decided to seize upon what Obama advisor David Axelrod had said here recently when Axelrod described the upcoming campaign as "a titanic struggle."

President Barack Obama's top advisor, David Axelrod, visited the New Hampshire Institute of Politics Tuesday, appearing at a public breakfast event, talking with the media, and meeting with students to have an open dialogue about the state of politics.

The president’s advisor and spokesman addressed a large local audience at the “Politics and Eggs” series in the NHIOP auditorium. His talk centered on the country’s economic challenges and the political process, noting that the people of New Hampshire have a unique opportunity to meet and evaluate the presidential candidates’ ideas, character, and record.

“It begins here. New Hampshire citizens will put them through their paces,” he said. He also praised the college and the NHIOP for the part it plays in instilling the values of civic responsibility in its students: “I look forward to the leadership the young people here will provide in years to come.”

Student Q & A

Reporting by Barbara LeBlanc

Students spent 45 minutes picking the brain of Democratic political strategist David Axelrod at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Axelrod, a former senior aide and current campaign advisor to President Obama, answered questions about the Tea Party, the differences between Democrats and Republicans, election strategy and what drew him to Obama.

He also urged the audience of about 35 students to get involved in political and civic life, no matter what issues they care about most. “You can’t be passive players,” he said. “You have the ability to influence the future of your country. The future is not going to present itself to you, you have to achieve it.”

Axelrod’s own interest in politics started when he was just five years old. “You can fill in the appropriate nerd joke,” he said. Then Sen. John F. Kennedy was visiting New York City, where Axelrod grew up, and a neighbor took the young boy to see him. “I still retain the sense of excitement and idealism about this system that I had when I was five years old sitting on a mailbox,” waiting for JFK to pass by, he said.

He said he first met the president in 1992 when someone Axelrod knew predicted that Barack Obama could become the first black president. Ten years later, he led the campaign that won Obama his U.S. Senate seat and later the Oval office.

In the Media

With a still-foundering economy and Americans increasingly fed up with the government, President Obama’s top campaign strategist today acknowledged the difficulties the incumbent president will face.

“We don’t have the wind at our backs this election,” said David Axelrod, speaking to around 200 people at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. “We have the wind in our face because the American people have the wind in their faces. This is going to be a titanic struggle.”

Talking at a Politics and Eggs breakfast in New Hampshire (a quaint little event where attendees are given a wooden egg and clamour to have it signed by the speaker), David Axelrod, chief strategist for the Obama campaign, used the word "titanic" when talking about the task facing his boss next year.

Live from the New Hampshire Institute of Politics studio tonight. Expect to see this background a lot — on numerous channels — in the months ahead. On this particular night, E.J. Dionne, columnist for The Washington Post and senior fellow at the Brookings Institute was interviewed on MSNBC. Speaking on CNN from Saint Anselm was Ovide Lamontagne, former 2010 Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retired Senator Judd Gregg.